This unit focuses on local plant species; students learn to identify common species and will examine their life cycle characteristics as evidence of climate change. Through the use of the national citizen science project titled Project BudBurst,...(View More) students explore the impacts of climate variation on plant species distribution. The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard."(View Less)

In this lesson, students will conduct labs to investigate three drivers of climate change: adding atmospheric greenhouse gases, melting glacial ice, and decreasing sea ice. Students, working in groups, will conduct experiments, connect them to...(View More) real-world data, and make posters to present their findings to the class. A teacher's guide, student worksheets, lab instructions, and a Powerpoint presentation (which incorporates related NASA videos) are included. This lesson uses the 5E instructional sequence.(View Less)

In this activity, students face an engineering challenge based on real-world applications. They are tasked with developing a tool they can use to measure the amount of rain that falls each day. Students will find out why freshwater is important,...(View More) learn about the water cycle, and the need to have a standard form of calibration for measurement tools. They will learn that keeping track of precipitation is important, and learn a little bit about how NASA's GPM satellite measures precipitation from space. This lesson uses the 5-E instructional model.(View Less)

This program uses NASA data and resources to promote authentic classroom research experiences. These two complementary guides lead students through the process of conducting their own inquiry-based research on an Earth-focused topic. In their...(View More) guidebook, students read content and answer questions about each step in the research process- from formulating a question to sharing results. The separate guide for teachers provides explicit instructions, lists the standards addressed, and includes additional hints, resources and websites.(View Less)

In this lesson, students will use real satellite data to determine the changes in near-surface air temperature over the Caribbean Sea at different times of the year. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS)...(View More) guide students through selecting a data set, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions.(View Less)

In this lesson students will investigate nitrogen dioxide levels in the atmosphere over a one-year period. The students will have to look at several regions from around the world to draw conclusions regarding NO2 amounts. From the plots, students...(View More) will have to brainstorm the reasons behind the variability in NO2 concentrations. Detailed procedures, materials, vocabulary linked to an online glossary, and teachers notes are provided. This lesson is from the MY NASA DATA project, which has created microsets from large scientific data sets, and wrapped them with tools, lesson plans, and supporting documentation so that a teacher, or anyone in the interested public, can use authentic NASA Earth system science data.(View Less)

By matching maps of snow and ice amounts with maps of net radiation flux for the same time frame, students will use the Live Access Server to explore how the net radiation flux has affected the snow and ice amounts in the Northern Hemisphere, as...(View More) well as how the presence of snow can affect the net radiation flux due to surface reflection. The lesson includes detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. This lesson is from the MY NASA DATA project, which has created microsets from large scientific data sets, and wrapped them with tools, lesson plans, and supporting documentation so that a teacher, or anyone in the interested public, can use authentic NASA Earth system science data.(View Less)

In this lesson, students use the Live Access Server to obtain real sea surface temperature data, to create maps and line graphs, and to make comparisons and conclusions about the effects of El Niño and La Ninña. The lesson includes detailed...(View More) procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. This lesson is from the MY NASA DATA project, which has created microsets from large scientific data sets, and wrapped them with tools, lesson plans, and supporting documentation so that a teacher, or anyone in the interested public, can use authentic NASA Earth system science data.(View Less)

This activity allows students to use radiosonde data from a weather balloon launch to distinguish the characteristics of the lower atmosphere. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) guide students through...(View More) selecting a data set, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions.(View Less)

In this activity, students use historic weather information and compare it with current data to determine if they can see a trend in temperature change over time. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) guide...(View More) students through selecting a data set, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions.(View Less)